Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1887-10-21
Ml1sffilanegns
Some Interesting Facts.

SupplementiDg our remarks OF last week
on the subject of manuring the land with
animal or mineral Commercially, ferti-
lizers we wish to refer our readers to some
interesting remarks made at the late
session of the American Pathological
Society at Boston by Mr.. Augur of Con-
necticut, on this very subject. One point
made by him was that it is as disastrous
to overteed soil as an animal-but we
suppose Mr.. Augur meant that the i'll
effects would be shown upon the plant
growing on an overfed soil. Forced or
overlooking OF an animal breaks down
the tissues. produces abnormal growth
and IN time results in disease. 1t may be
true that excessive manuring will give
very rank, heavy growth of crops, but we
think it is not so easy to tell if that growth
be injurious to grass, grain or fruit, in the
same way that it produce i'll effects upon
an animal if that animal were overfed.
At the discussion which followed the read
ing of Augur's essay, Mr.. Charles A.
Green OF Rochester, n Y, a widely known
horticulturst, said he thought there was
no such thing as gluttony in plants
that a plant would take lust what
it needed and no more. This may
be true with some forms OF mineral fertil-
lzing, but we doubt if it is with animal
fertilizers. Digestibility is an important
element to be taken into consideration, tor
we speak of accessibility or assimilation
an animal. The plant absorbs and digests.
If the manure or plant food is in the soil
in soluble form, will the plant take just
what it wants and leave the remainder, or
will it take too much, and in trying to ap-
propriate it become diseased? Chemists
understand that il certain forms of COM
mercial or mineral manures are not at
once taken up by the plaut when they be-
come soluble by contact with the soil, they
unite with other mineral elements in the
soil and thus become locked up. and
as impossible to be appropriated by the
plant as il they were in an iron safe. In
this case it would be impossible for the
plant to become "glutton'. With
animal manures however, we are quite
sure the results would be different. They
are more readily available by the plant.
Their food is right at hand in the most
perfect form. The plants with food OF
this character Immediately available may
become "gluttons," and appropriate an
over supply, and hence show rank, i'm
perfect and unhealthy development, but
in all manuring the aim should be to use
plant food in the most easily available
form up to the limit of healthy growth OF
the crop. This can only be determined
by repeated experiment.
But there are some curious features to
this subject of fertiizing for the crop pro-
duction. Among these are the we'll es-
tabished facts that the use of two com
mercial fertilizers of the same given
analysis will give different results in field
practice; and that some forms of
plant food, especially potash and
phosphates, are far more valuable for
plant food after passing through yegeta-
BILE growth than before. The curious
fact has been established that while min
eral phosphate analysed the same as one
that obtained its phophorus from animal
consumption of vegetable growths, the
latter form was much the best for actual
use This was found out in the following
interesting way: The British govern
ment has been supplying its surgeons
with certain kind of phosphate medicine
On one occasion numerous reports were
sent back to medical headquarters, that
the medicine did not give the required
results. On analysis the medicine was
found to be properly compounded. and it
was only by going to the factory and as
pertaining that the phosphorus came from
Greenland rock, instead of from animal
bones. as that which had been previously
used. that the reason was discovered
for its different effect. The rock phos-
phate and the animal phosphate were
chemically identical. In their action one
was valuable and the other was not
How much there is that we do not yet
know about this seemingly common thing
of manuring tor crops!